ParentBoston University

Fall 2010

Ballroom Dance Hunger Relief

Magic Organic Gardening

Environment

Beekeeping

A Capella Rocket Team

There’s a club for that. With 494 official student organizations (and counting), there’s a club for every student at BU.

Jiu-Jitsu Figure Skating

Art History

Ultimate Frisbee

Garba-Raas

Foods of the World

Archaeology

Water Polo

B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 1

Boston UniversityFall 2010Parent

About This Magazine

The Boston University Parents Program links parents and other family members of BU students with the University. We encourage your participation and welcome questions and comments. Please write to the Parents Program, Boston University, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 700, West Entrance, Boston, Massachusetts 02215; call 617-358-1187; or email parents@bu.edu.

Associate Director, Parents Program Christy Olson Loring

Coordinator, Parents Program Kellen Sarb

Editor Corinne Steinbrenner (COM’06)

Contributing Writers Leslie Friday (COM’07)Allyson Galle (CAS’12)Rachel Johnson (MET’11)Patrick L. Kennedy (COM’04)Katie Koch (CAS’09, COM’09)Kelsey Mason (COM’12)Vicky Waltz

Art Director Diana Parziale (CFA’77), mother of Lisa Terrat (CFA’11)

Photography Boston University Photography, unless otherwise noted

Produced by Boston University Creative Services

7

Stay connected with e-Parent. The Parents

Program’s electronic newsletter keeps

you informed with a monthly collection of

articles, photos, reminders, and invitations

just for BU families.

Subscribe at www.bu.edu/parentsprogram/newsletter.

C Please recycle

4

Dear Boston University Parents,One of the articles in this issue of Boston University Parent looks at the many programs avail-

able for overseas study, and the cover story explores the nearly 500 organizations on campus that

meet the varied interests of students, from arts to zoology.

More than 40 percent of our students spend at least one semester or a summer in one of our

study abroad programs, and this greatly enhances their preparation for future work or graduate

study. Increasingly, businesses function beyond national boundaries, and research, scholarship,

and teaching involve colleagues from around the world. Learning about other cultures, societies,

and languages by studying in an international setting can only make students better prepared for

the world in which they will pursue their careers.

Learning isn’t confined to the classroom, of course, and even at the university level, play helps contribute to making a person

well-rounded and fulfilled. Our student organizations provide opportunities for your sons and daughters to pursue all kinds of inter-

ests, from the whimsical to the extremely serious. I am especially impressed by those who choose to engage in community service

efforts, but it’s also gratifying to see the spirit of teamwork and joy that develops from some of the more light-hearted organizations.

I hope you encourage your sons and daughters to take full advantage of these opportunities during their years at Boston University.

With best wishes,

Robert A. Brown President

Dear Fellow Parents,Welcome to the Boston University community! It’s fall and the campus is alive with the

colors of a new school year. For many of you this Boston University Parent will serve as an intro-

duction to campus life, which is why we have dedicated much of the issue to student activities.

Both of my children were deeply involved in on-campus activities while they were here at BU,

and I know that a BU education is far more than what happens in our many classrooms.

The University is proud to offer nearly 500 student clubs and intramural sports teams, as

well as 21 athletic teams. I hope that you and your student will quickly realize that there is a

place for everyone at BU. And if your son or daughter has not found a niche yet, encourage your

student to create his or her own student organization—the Student Activities Office is always

looking to expand.

I am also excited to share with you the University’s commitment to building Student

Affairs East, a new facility that will be located in Kenmore Square. The building will house Career Services, the Educational Resource

Center, and a new dining hall. The University is supporting our students every step of the way as they follow their career paths.

In fact, the BU experience is by no means limited to Boston. In this issue, we will also explore the wealth of resources and opportu-

nities that are available to our students abroad. From London to Australia, the possibilities are endless.

I wish you and your student a wonderful fall semester—and remember, Parents Weekend is October 22–24. I look forward to

meeting you there!

Jeanne KnoxChairwoman, Parents Leadership CouncilMother of Merrill (COM’06) and Bobby (CGS’08, SAR’10, SPH’12)

8Cover Story

8 There’s a Club for That: An astounding variety of student organizations guarantees that anyone can find a niche at BU.

Features

4 Beyond Boston: Students go global with BU International Programs.

6 More Than a Hockey School: Terriers excel in more sports than you might think.

7 A Call to Serve: Day of Service is a new BU tradition.

In Every Issue

2 B-Line Buzz

11 20 Questions

12 University News Bites

14 BU Parents Program Events

12

2 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 3

The University is planning to build a six-story, 106,000-square-foot structure hous-ing state-of-the-art dining services and a new home for Career Services and the Educational Resource Center. Construc-tion of the estimated $50 million East Campus Center for Student Services is slated to begin this winter, with an opening date set for fall 2012.

Preliminary plans for the center emerged from the University’s strategic planning process in 2007. University lead-ership wanted to better connect existing career and educational resource services, housed in separate (and relatively ob-scure) locations. At the same time, Dining Services knew that East Campus dining options paled in comparison with others. When they ran the numbers, says Laurie Pohl, vice president for enrollment and

student affairs, they found that renovating the dining areas in Shelton Hall, Myles Standish Hall, and the Towers would be more expensive than building a new facil-ity. So officials decided to combine the three major services under one roof, and locate that roof at 100 Bay State Road, a space that is now a parking lot.

Gary Nicksa, vice president of opera-tions, says the architects worked hard to design a building that would suit the two different neighborhoods that the center will bridge—one historic, the other modern. The result is a structure whose Bay State Road side will be brick and stand three stories tall, while the Kenmore side will have a modern façade and be six stories tall.

The center’s first two floors will be dedicated to dining facilities. (Current residence dining halls will probably be converted to study lounges and common rooms.) The center’s middle floors will be home to first- and second-year advising services for the College of Arts & Sciences and advising offices for pre-law and pre-med studies. The fifth and sixth floors will house Career Services, now at 19 Deerfield Street, and the Educational Resource Center, now at the George Sherman Union, which offers tutoring, foreign language group discussions, and writing and reading workshops.

—Leslie Friday

Did You Know?The dining hall at Warren Towers serves 2,500 pounds of bananas each week? At about 100 calories each, that’s enough brain food to fuel 2,000 hours of studying. And fresh fruit is just the beginning. BU’s five residence dining rooms provide a variety of healthy op-tions, including Sargent Choice items developed by nutritionists at BU’s College of Health & Rehabili-tation Sciences: Sargent College.

SIGG water bottles Buying bottled water

Glee American Idol

Lady Gaga Trying to be Lady Gaga

Reusable bags Plastic bags

Twitpics MySpace pics

High-waisted skirts Neon tights

Farmers markets Processed, packaged food

Vampire men Human men

Girls in skinny jeans Guys in skinny jeans

Eating in Eating out

Iced tea Iced coffee

Remakes of movies Turning books into movies

Reality TV Soap operas

Buying a song Buying a whole CD

Compiled by Kelsey Mason (COM’12)

HoT

What’s NoT

What’s

For years, students living on East Campus have been keenly aware of the distance to FitRec and other West Campus amenities, as well as to Central Campus niceties like the George Sherman Union. Easterners, it seemed, had no social center of gravity.

That will soon change.

Student Center Coming to East Campus

B-Line Buzz u

Web Extrato learn more about Career services and the educational resource Center, visit www.bu.edu/careers and www.bu.edu/erc.

>>

The East Campus Center for Student Services, to be constructed at 100 Bay State Road, will offer study lounges, a dining hall and café, academic and career counseling, and tutoring.

www.bu.edu/orientation/ families/parents-weekend

PARENTS WEEKEND

See Boston University through their eyes.

october 22–24, 2010

4 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 5

70 programs. 30 cities. 20 countries. 6 continents.

BU international programs are helping students go global.

Bailey Acevedo (CAS’10) has long been fascinated by Latin America. “The people, the food, the music—just everything about it,” she says. During her junior year, she experienced the richness of Latin America firsthand through BU’s Quito Language & Liberal Arts Program. Acevedo, a Latin American studies major, lived with an Ecuadorian host family and enrolled as a full-time student at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. “I spoke Spanish be-fore I went, but being fully immersed in the language and the culture is incomparable,” she says. “I never would have been able to learn that much out of a textbook.”

Acevedo is among the hundreds of BU students who study abroad each year, taking advantage of BU’s vast international offerings. BU International Programs (BUIP) operates more than 70 programs in 30 cities in 20 countries. “We have programs on six continents,” says BUIP Associate Director Chris Russell, “and if we could get housing on Antarctica, we probably would do that too.”

This investment in international education, says Russell, reflects the University’s commitment to preparing students for a global future. And in addition to giving students a greater understanding of their world, he says, studying abroad also allows them to test their comfort zones and enhance their résumés.

International Internships

BUIP—which serves BU students and hundreds of students from other univer-sities nationally—is well known for its internship programs. While any internship can be valuable, international internships are often especially productive, says Russell, because people outside the United States don’t see interns as kids they have to keep busy, but as valuable resources for their organizations.

“I was expecting to be getting coffee and filing things,” says Tara Vaughn (SAR’10), who interned at the World Health Organization in Geneva during her

junior year, “and I would have been perfectly happy with that, just to be at such a prestigious organization.”

Instead, Vaughn says, she was treated “as a member of the team” and was frequently asked for her opinions and suggestions.

Ben Beard (CAS’09) was similarly sur-prised by his internship as the volunteer coordinator for the Auckland Art Fair. “The experience in New Zealand is so much different than in the States because they give you an entirely different level of freedom,” Beard says. Instead of being closely supervised with specific instruc-tions, he was trusted to perform his job in-dependently. “It made me really motivated, because you have that room for failure,” he says. “If people don’t show up, if you don’t get volunteers, then it’s all on you.”

Sprechen Sie Science?

Another strength of BUIP is its variety of offerings for science and engineering students. Study abroad programs have

Beyond Boston

traditionally catered to humanities students, but BU has created numerous opportunities for scientists and engineers to weave international education into their studies as well.

Through BUIP, pre-med students study organic chemistry at Germany’s Technische Universität Dresden; physics majors conduct research projects at the CERN in Geneva; and biology majors explore the Amazon rainforest.

BU offers five international engineer-ing programs—one each in Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Australia, and Israel. Minori Shimizu (ENG’11) enrolled in the Guadalajara Engineering Program during her sophomore year and says she expects her experience in Mexico to make her a better, more globally minded engineer.

“Not just Americans are using what-ever you’re engineering. Different people in different parts of the world are using that machine,” she says, “and you can’t make it to their best advantage unless you know some other culture.”

Spend Summer Abroad

BUIP is also known for its summer offerings, with many students enrolling in summer study abroad as a way to explore topics outside their fields of study without getting behind in their degree programs.

During the summer, students can learn about Senegalese drumming and dance in Dakar, study landscape painting in Tus-cany, or try their hand at travel writing in the Australian outback. Some students opt to try something new and different every summer, Russell says, “and while it may not go toward their major, it definitely goes toward their education.” P

Robin Berghaus, Devin Hahn, and Benjamin Hall contributed reporting to this article.

A Parent’s Perspective

When Charlene Priester

(CoM’73) sent her son to study

abroad, she worried—as any

parent might—about his housing

accommodations and about his

getting lost in an unfamiliar city.

she had a chance to visit Jonathan

(CoM’10) during his semester in

London and found she needn’t

have fretted on either count.

the student housing in London

was beautiful, she says, and BU

provided everything Jonathan

needed, right down to his bed

sheets. even more impressive, she

says, was the way BU’s staff

helped to acclimate Jonathan to

his new city. “When we got over

there to visit, it was like visiting

him in Boston—he knew where to

go, where not to go.” the staff also

helped Jonathan and his fellow

students plan excursions to Berlin,

Paris, and other european cities.

spending an entire semester

abroad—“not just being there

as a tourist, but really getting

immersed in the culture”—

gave her son a valuable global

perspective, Priester says, and

she encourages all BU parents

to support their son or daughter’s

plans to enroll in an international

program. Priester’s advice for

parents who do send a student

abroad: “Make sure that you

have your own passport ready

so, if you can, you can go visit

at least once.”

By Corinne steinBrenner

Web Extraexplore BU’s world-class intern-ships and study abroad programs at www.bu.edu/abroad.

>>

GALAPAGoS

MEXICo

t

ECUADoR

t

t

NEW ZEALAND

GENEVA

LoNDoN

GERMANY

t

VENICE

t

GALAPAGoS

PARIS

VideosWatch interviews of students studying around the world at www.bu.edu/today/bu-abroad.

>>

6 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 7

The boy was 12 years old, homeless, and HIV-positive.

Gail Lattrell (CAS’83) was stunned. Not even a two-year stint in the Peace Corps prepared her for this heartbreaking reality.

In April, Lattrell joined thousands of Boston University students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni who took part in the Alumni Association’s inaugural Global Day of Service. The association, along with individual alumni and the BU Community Service Center (CSC), organized commu-nity service opportunities that extended coast to coast and beyond.

Lattrell, mother of Sarah Lattrell (CAS’12, COM’12), teamed up with six sophomores from Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to volunteer at the Lawrence Corpus Christi House, a shelter for people who are living with HIV or AIDS. It was here she met the boy.

“When you go to a homeless shelter,” she says, “you expect to see victims of poverty or survivors of domestic violence. You don’t expect to see children.”

The high school students with whom she volunteered (including her youngest son, Devon) were practically children them-selves. “They kind of paused when they saw that boy,” Lattrell says. “They realized that AIDS and homelessness don’t discriminate; it doesn’t matter how old you are.”

The volunteers chatted with the residents while they cleaned. Residents don’t tend to stay long, they learned—many

die within a few months of their arrival, although one man has lived there for 14 years. “They were shy,” Lattrell recalls. “They said they don’t get many visitors.”

A BU sophomore, Lattrell’s daughter is following in her mother’s footsteps. An avid supporter of community service, Sarah takes part in the CSC’s First-Year Student Outreach Program, Alternative Spring Break, and Siblings programs. As an intern in BU Development & Alumni Relations, she helped organize the Global Day of Service.

While her mother was at the Corpus Christi House, Sarah cooked and served meals for residents of Rosie’s Place, a shelter for homeless women in Boston. “Volunteering is an excellent way to get a sense of who you are,” she says. “It helps you to grow and build strong bonds with others. I’ve met most of my friends through service projects.”

Although students volunteered mainly in and around Boston—activities ranged from removing invasive plant species at the Franklin Park Zoo to building a home for Habitat for Humanity—participants mobilized volunteer stations from New York to Seattle, Madrid to Shanghai.

Meg Umlas, executive director of alumni relations, was delighted by the response. “We’re thrilled to have created a new tradition for the BU community,” she says. “More than 3,700 volunteers logged nearly 15,000 hours of community service and raised $8,528.”

Umlas was particularly impressed by strong international representation. In London, volunteers picked up garbage along the banks of the Thames, and in Paris they organized a fundraiser for survi-vors of the earthquake in Haiti. Alumni in New Delhi hosted a carnival for more than 500 underprivileged children.

The ride home from the Corpus Christi House was quiet, Lattrell recalls. “The boys were thoughtful, reflective,” she says. “They gained a lot more than they gave. And I think they realized they have a lot of gifts to give.”

WoMEN’S FIELD HoCKEY

BU claimed the America East field hockey title four times in the last five seasons, and longtime head coach Sally Starr is excited about the Terriers’ prospects again this year. BU draws field hockey talent from around the world—the 2010 roster includes players from Australia, New Zealand, France, and Chile.

Season Began: August 28, 2010

WoMEN’S ICE HoCKEY

BU’s varsity women’s hockey program is just five years old, but the young team is already making a name for itself. The Ter-riers won the Hockey East championship last year, and defenseman Tara Watchorn (SAR’12) was later named a New England All-Star for the second straight season.

Under the continuing leadership of Coach Brian Durocher, the team is expected to be among the best in the nation this year.

Season Began: October 2, 2010

FIGURE SKATING

While not a varsity sport, figure skating is a major point of pride for BU. The BU Figure Skating Club won the Intercollegiate Na-tional Championships in 2010—the second national victory in a row for the club’s coed competition team. Coach Andrea Mohns-Brillaud says she’s looking forward to working with this year’s team, which includes several veterans and “many new freshmen who are very accomplished skaters.”

Season Begins: October 16, 2010

SWIMMING & DIVING

The BU women’s swimming and diving team defended its conference title at the America East Championships last spring, with the 400-free relay team breaking a conference record and Melinda Matyas (CAS’13) taking home the Diver of the Meet title. The men’s team finished second at the tournament with two record-break-ing swims.

Season Begins: October 16, 2010

MEN’S BASKETBALL

In his first season at BU, head coach Patrick Chambers propelled the Terriers to the America East finals last spring, their first appearance in the tournament since 2003. The Terriers ended last season with a 21–14 record and—with several powerful returning players—Chambers is looking forward to another winning season.

Season Begins: November 12, 2010

More Than a Hockey SchoolTerriers dominate in the pool, on the grass, on the ice, and off the glass.

By Corinne steinBrenner

A Call to ServeStudents, alumni, and parents take part in BU’s inaugural Global Day of Service.

By viCky WaLtz

Web ExtraFor the latest BU athletics news and video highlights, or to buy tickets, visit www.goterriers.com.

>>

When you hear the phrase “Boston University athletics,” you probably picture the cheering crowd at a men’s hockey game—and for good reason. BU’s devoted hockey fans have rooted their icemen on to 29 Beanpot victories, 21 appearances in the Frozen Four, and 5 national championships (the most recent one in 2009). But men’s hockey players aren’t the only athletes earning bragging rights for BU. Featured here are just a few of the terrier sports teams that shone brightly in the 2009–2010 season and are expected to dazzle again this year.

Volunteers tidy up the Lawrence Corpus Christi House, distribute prom dresses donated to Belle of the Ball, and help with landscaping at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo as part of BU’s Global Day of Service.

HoW PARENTS CAN HELP

Become a Parent AmbassadorParents provide invaluable support for

our teams by attending games, providing

snacks for the athletes, and cheering from

the stands. If you’re interested in support-

ing BU’s student athletes, please contact

the Parents Program at parents@bu.edu

or sign up on our website, www.bu.edu/

parentsprogram.

To show our appreciation, we’ll recognize

you as a Boston University Parent Ambas-

sador. You’ll join other Parent Ambas-

sadors who’ve become involved in BU life

in many ways, from providing internships

to hosting students on Alternative Spring

Break.

Photos by Anna Knapp, Gail Lattrell, and Boston University Photography

Photos by Steve McLaughlin/BU Athletics (left) and Chris Churchill

Web Extra

see photos and videos from BU’s service projects across the globe—and watch for information about how to volunteer in 2011—at www.bu.edu/dayofservice.

>>

8

Don’t tell John Battaglino there’s nothing to do at Boston University. Every Friday night, he walks the length of Commonwealth Avenue, ducking into the George Sherman Union, popping into BU Central.

“I find at least a dozen events going on every weekend,” says the executive director of the Student Activities Office (SAO), BU’s source for extracurricular clubs and organizations.

With nearly 500 groups on campus—from sports to Greek life, international culture to performing arts—the selection can be over-whelming. But a wide variety of activities guarantees that anyone can find a niche at BU.

When Brendan Gauthier (COM’11) came to BU as a freshman, he didn’t know anyone. So he joined Stage Troupe, the University’s oldest and largest performing arts group for non-theater majors, and landed a role in the group’s fall production of The Music Man.

“Between the cast and crew, I met a ton of people,” he says, “including some upperclassmen who introduced me to a lot of BU resources.”

During the first few weeks of school, Marieljane Bastien (CAS’13) joined the Haitian Cultural Association. “It helped to meet people who had similar cultural backgrounds to my own,” she recalls.

By spring semester, she was ready to step outside of her com-fort zone, so she joined the women’s rugby team. “No one could believe it,” she says, “because I don’t like to run. But it’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve gotten to know so many people whom I would have never met otherwise.”

While smaller, quirkier organizations tend to come and go— the People Watching and Bad Movie clubs disbanded after only a year—larger ones, such as Habitat for Humanity and Dance Theatre Group, have been around for decades.

The key to club longevity, according to Jeff Murphy, SAO’s assistant director, is to involve students beyond the club’s mem-bers. “The India Club does a great job of engaging students,” he says. “Membership isn’t huge, but the club hosts events that draw big crowds from all over the University.”

Established in 1981, the India Club is the largest South Asian organization on the East Coast, and its spring and fall cultural shows, as well as its annual Garbafest, attract thousands of spec-tators each semester. Two years ago, British rapper Jay Sean even made a special guest appearance at its spring formal.

New clubs pop up every year. The BU Beekeepers Club in-stalled its first hive along the banks of the Charles River in June, Boston Salsa University danced onto campus in 2009, and BU Bikes took to the streets in 2008.

“Too often, people judge a club’s success on its membership size,” Battaglino says. “But a club that has 12 members is just as influential as one that has 50. What matters is that those 12 people are connecting with one another, that they leave BU with some friends and an experience they can look back on and be proud of.”

Two years ago, a ragtag BU Quidditch team (yes, as in Harry Potter) went to Middlebury College to compete in the annual Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup. Now in its third season, the group has more than 40 members and has exchanged its lacrosse sticks and mismatched T-shirts for broom sets and team jerseys.

“It started out as a handful of kids running with sticks between their legs and tossing soccer balls through hula hoops behind Marsh Chapel,” Murphy says. “And now look at it: BU Quidditch is a legitimate club sport.”

And Quidditch isn’t the only unusual club sport on campus. BU has a Curling Club, an International Extreme Croquet Society, and

There’s a Club for ThatWith 494 official student organizations (and counting),

there’s a club for every student at BU.

By viCky WaLtz

B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 9

BU’s Student Activities Office oversees nearly 500 student organizations, ranging from club sports such as lacrosse and curling (above) to performance groups like Stage Troupe (left) and the BU Choral Society. Looking for something quirkier? Try the Quidditch team (far left), extreme croquet (top left), or beekeeping (top right).

Quidditch?

Extreme croquet?

Beekeeping?

Magic?

10 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 11

Aaron Horvitz has a habit of rising to the top. He joined the Student Alumni Association (SAA) as a BU sophomore and now serves as SAA president. As a freshman he got a job doing clerical work for the ice cream store chain Emack & Bolio’s and he’s now the CFO—yes, that’s chief financial officer—of the company. “It’s what I’ve always done,” says the native of Westborough, Massachusetts. “Whatever I get involved in, I try to go as far with it as I can.” — CS

There’s a Club for That, continued

1. What is the Student Alumni Association (SAA)? We’re geared toward connecting students to alumni. One of our biggest events is Connect for Success, when we pair students with alumni career mentors.

2. How did you get involved in the SAA? I got an email about the organization and noticed they were involved in Winterfest. I used to come to Winterfest with my parents, and I thought it would be awesome to get involved in that.

3. What have you accomplished as SAA president? We’ve grown from 12 members to 32 and introduced an event with young alumni, Strike up a Conversation.

4. How did you start working at Emack & Bolio’s? I saw the position on the BU job board.

5. What are your responsibilities as CFO? Every week I go through the profit and loss statements for all the stores we directly own. I check accounts payable, accounts receivable, and our account balances. Something extra always gets thrown in, like creating a cash register for a new store.

6. How do you balance work and school? I go to class, I go home, I do my homework as quick as I can, and then I go into the office. I’ve also set it up so I can do a lot of my work remotely. I can run reports and stuff from my apartment, so if I finish my homework at midnight, I can do work then.

7. Do you ever sleep? I’ve been known to sleep an hour a night.

8. Both your parents went to BU. Did you consider go-ing anywhere else? My parents were great about helping me look through college books and find out what I wanted. But what it came down to is that Boston, the city, has always been my favorite place.

9. What is your favorite thing about BU? I’m obsessed with BU’s mascot, Rhett. Every time I see him, I try to get a picture with him.

10. What is your favorite campus hangout? SMG Starbucks. That’s pretty much the place to be.

11. What is the strangest thing in your backpack? I have a piece of paper that says “Belbin Bunch” on it. It’s a card that guarantees me one personal favor from my high school history teacher, Mr. Belbin.

12. What do you never leave home without? My cell phone. It’s so important to everything I do— the student group, my job.

13. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Caramel Moose Prints from Emack & Bolio’s.

14. Do you have any hidden talents? I’m a pretty decent dancer. My sophomore year, a couple of students and I choreographed a whole dance to Destiny’s Child for a lip-synching contest, and it was pretty good. We came in second place.

15. What’s your dream job? I would love to be in a position where I have so many important things to do that I don’t have to do the meaningless ones.

16. What do you like to read? I follow technology blogs: Android Central, Engadget, Gizmodo.

17. What music do you listen to? I love anything that’s catchy: Taylor Swift, Kesha, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake.

18. What makes you laugh out loud? It’s really easy to get me to laugh.

19. When you have extra money in your wallet, what do you splurge on? If it’s around the time Patriots tickets go on sale, I’ll buy Patriots tickets. Otherwise, I’ll pick up the tab when I’m out with my friends.

20. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Boston. I love living here.

20 Questions with Aaron Horvitz (SMG’11)

Aaron Horvitz (SMG’11) makes an appearance in the spring 2010 BU LipDub. Photo courtesy of Aaron Horvitz

a broomball team—sports “that you can only do in college,” says curler Lisi Erskine (CGS’10, CAS’12), with a laugh.

Although BU isn’t known for its Greek life, the campus is home to more than 25 fraternities and sororities, many of which focus on community service projects. One of the more creative fundraisers occurred two years ago, when Pi Kappa Alpha sponsored a “car bash” to raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. For $3, a passersby could beat a rusty Oldsmobile with a 10-pound sledgehammer.

The Greeks often join forces for large events, as do many other student groups. “Hug Don’t Hate, Project Hope, Spectrum, and UNICEF come together each year for World AIDS Week,” Murphy says. “And the Environmental Student Organization, Vegetarian Society, and Slow Food BU work together during Earth Week.”

Another example of such successful collaboration was “Bos-ton Stands with Haiti.” Fifteen student organizations partnered with the Dean of Students Office, Community Service Center, Howard Thurman Center, and Student Production Services to mobilize a relief effort for victims of last winter’s earthquake in Haiti. The event drew thousands, including Massachusetts Gov-ernor Deval Patrick, and raised more than $50,000 for Partners in Health, a nonprofit health care provider.

Students interested in such activities—and the people who help make them happen—have excellent online resources to turn to. Last year, SAO launched YouDo@BU, a website that lists every student club and organization and includes a brief description and contact information for each one.

In addition, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, his assistant Kat Hasenauer Cornetta, and Battaglino all have Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter accounts that they update regularly. It’s

important for students to realize that BU administrators are more than just a bunch of guys in suits who show up for the occasional hockey or basketball game, Battaglino says. “We try to connect with students any way we can,” he says, “whether it be face-to-face or online.”

As the parent of three college-age children—his oldest son John (CGS’08, SHA’10) graduated from BU last year, and daughters Brittaney (CGS’10, CAS’12) and Anya (CGS’12, BU’14) are current students—Battaglino recognizes there’s a fine line between encouragement and annoyance.

“Parents tend to force ideas on their children without realiz-ing it,” he says. “If I tell my kids about a club I think they’ll like, it’s the kiss of death. I’ve learned to lead them to the source—in this case, SAO’s website—and let them find their own way.”

More often than not, students will do exactly that. And if they can’t find an organization that suits their interests, they’ll form one. “My son loves paintball,” Battaglino says, “so he started a paintball club.”

One night while she was out salsa dancing, Nadia Ouhib (ENG’11) looked around and realized that most of the people on the dance floor were in their thirties or older. “Salsa lessons are expensive, which turns students off,” she says. “I wanted to see people my age enjoying it as well.”

So she founded Boston Salsa University, a club that teaches weekly salsa lessons to students. Teaching is a way to give back to her community, Ouhib says, as well as a welcome break from her studies in biomedical engineering.

“I enjoy my classes,” she says, “but by the end of the day I don’t have much motivation left to do any real thinking. Salsa is a form of creative expression, something that is mindless

but still stimulating.”It’s important to have interests

outside of the classroom, rugby player Bastien adds. “College is about more than tests and papers,” she says. “This is our time to try new things, to grow into ourselves.”

Battaglino couldn’t agree more. “Get out there and explore,” he says. P

Web ExtraDiscover BU’s amazing variety of student clubs at www.bu.edu/youdo.

>>

12 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 13

Expanding the BUniverse

Costume-clad LipDubbers coexist with Noam Chomsky. BU’s executive chef cooks up Sargent Choice recipes along-side testimonials from Alternative Spring Break volunteers.

All are part of the new BUniverse, BU’s one-stop repository for video content and a kind of YouTube for stu-dents, faculty, staff, and alumni. The site, launched in April, was designed to corral BU-related content from around the Web—from BU Today videos to taped School of Medicine lectures to student vlogs on YouTube—in a single, easy-to-use place.

Everyone is welcome to watch videos on the site; anyone with an active BU login and Kerberos password can upload videos and comment on existing ones.

— Katie Koch

Check out some of our favorites:

VIDEoS BY STUDENTS

“Homeless, Not Helpless” by Kristyn Ulanday (COM’10) and Max Esposito (CGS’08, COM’10)Visit www.bu.edu/buniverse and search keyword “homeless”

VIDEoS BY BU TodAy

“One Small Step for Man,” an anthropology lesson from Assistant Professor Jeremy DeSilvaSearch keyword “DeSilva”

VIDEoS BY ALUMNI

“Onion News Network: MacBook Wheel” featuring actress Kyla Grogan (COM’91)Search keyword “MacBook”

Sources include BU Today, arts&sciences, and COMtalk. Articles excerpted with permission.

New Leaders for SMG, CFA, SHA

The University recently welcomed new deans to lead the School of Management, the College of Fine Arts, and the School of Hospitality Administration.

The School of Management is now headed by Kenneth W. Freeman, who joined BU from the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Freeman served as CEO of Quest Diagnostics from 1996 to 2004. His turnaround of the medical testing company earned him a spot on Harvard Business Review’s list of the world’s 100 best-performing CEOs.

The new dean at the College of Fine Arts is musical conductor Benjamín E. Juárez. Before accepting the CFA post, Juárez was director of culture, technology, and development at the Dr. José María Luis Mora Research Institute in his native Mexico. He has also directed Mexico’s national arts center, running professional schools in music, dance, arts, theater, and film.

Christopher Muller now holds the deanship at the School of Hospitality Administration. A former restaurateur, Muller has taught at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and helped found the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hos pitality Management.

— Corinne Steinbrenner

CoM, Now in HD

An unused space on the third floor of the College of Communication building has leapt from the 1950s into the 21st century with the opening of the Ezratti Family High-Definition Editing Lab.

Workmen gutted the room, redid the ceilings and floors, painted the walls, and installed a dozen new workstations with the latest Mac Pro computers that boast the newest software for editing HD video, thanks to a gift from BU Overseer Maya Ezratti (COM’98). Now, COM students are using the programs Final Cut Studio and Avid Media Composer to complete projects for their courses in film and television.

“It’s all top-of-the-line—the fastest software; the server is incredible,” says Rosenblum, who produces TV, radio, and Web commercials in her role as com-munity relations director at G. L. Homes of Florida. “I hope this will be a venue for students to realize their dreams and create wonderful works.”

— Patrick L. Kennedy

Learning Wolof Can Be Fun

The College of Arts & Sciences recently launched Globally Speaking, a program designed to show that immersing your-self in a new language is fun, not scary. The program offers classes in eight languages: Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Dari/Tajik, and the African languages Hausa, Wolof, and isiXhosa.

The program grew out of an ROTC initiative aimed at increasing the number of cadets and midshipmen able to speak languages deemed “critical” by the government—critical because so

few Americans speak them and because they are spoken in

locations significant to U.S. interna-tional policy.

Through Globally Speaking, BU now teaches those critical languages to the wider BU community in a low-pressure environment.

“Everything about Globally Speak-ing classes is structured to diminish anxiety,” says Associate Professor William Waters, who runs the program. “No grades, no obligatory homework, and nobody will ever criticize your pronunciation—or coerce you to sing, for that matter.” ROTC students are encouraged to attend as a gateway into a new language, but classes are open to anyone with a BU ID.

— Rachel Johnson (MET’11)

News Bites)

Seniors Honored with Scarlet Key

Justin Breton (CGS’08, COM’10) kept track of 37 of his peers as the resident assistant at Gilbane House. Veronica Ocasio (CGS’08, SMG’10) led the Puerto Rican Student Association. Sam Kuttner (CGS’08, CAS’10) organized

English-language tutor-ing for refugees through the BU Community Service Center.

These three campus leaders were among the 58 graduating seniors honored in May with the Scarlet Key Award, established in 1938 to recognize outstand-

ing BU seniors who’ve demonstrated exceptional leadership, service, and scholarship during their time at the University.

The Scarlet Key recipients were nominated by faculty and staff, and the students were inducted into the Scarlet Key Society at a formal “tapping” cer-emony, where each was tapped on the shoulder with a sword (borrowed from the eclectic collections of BU’s Gotlieb Archival Research Center), wielded this year by College of General Studies Dean Linda Wells. — CS

As Seen on TV

When they need expert insight, news reporters often turn to BU professors for their views on critical issues of the day. Meet a few of the BU faculty members who’ve recently stood in the media spotlight:

Religion Professor Stephen Prothero’s latest book, God Is Not One, has received wide media attention. In addition, Prothero contributes to CNN’s Belief Blog and has weighed in on the religious makeup of the Supreme Court. Visit his website, www.stephenprothero.com, for links to recent media coverage, including

a clip of his June appearance on The Colbert Report.

Media outlets regularly turn to Sar-gent College’s Joan Salge Blake for nutri-tion advice. She’s spoken to TV reporters about eating healthy on a budget, reducing salt and sugar intake, and the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. Find healthy recipes, nutrition tools, and clips of her TV appearances at http://people.bu.edu/salge.

Geography and Environment Professor Cutler Cleveland is widely consulted for his opinions on energy-related issues, and he’s frequently quoted in media reports on the environmental and political impact of the Gulf oil spill. Follow his energy blog at www.theenergywatch.com. — CS

BU Named A Green College

The Princeton Review recently named BU in its Guide to 286 Green Colleges. Pub-lished in partnership with the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, the guide focuses on colleges and universities that demonstrate “an above-average commitment to sustainability activities and initiatives.”

According to Dennis Carlberg, BU director of sustainability, reviewers chose schools based on quality of campus life, how well they prepare students for employment in a green economy, and how environmentally friendly their behavior and facilities are.

Schools that received green scores of 80 or higher appear in the guide. BU’s score was 88, based partially on invest-ments to improve buildings’ energy efficiency, recycling efforts, and BU’s large number of environmental clubs. The guide also cited the University’s decision to eliminate trays in the dining halls, purchase organic and local produce, and compost preconsumer waste through the Dining Services Sustainability Program.

— Vicky Waltz

Visit www.bu.edu/buniverse

>>

$25,000+Mr. and Mrs. Leland C. AckerleyMr. and Mrs. Basil Y. AlhizamiMr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Cohen* Prem Kishan and Mamta Gupta** Alan and Sherry Leventhal Mr. and Mrs. William Ruprecht**

$10,000 to $24,999Mr. and Mrs. David D. Buttolph* **Bonnie Chwalek and Michael Schiffer Lisa and Edward Gilligan**Mrs. Maria A. Kamberos Ms. Abby Grossman Modell Mr. and Mrs. Paul Moir**Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Monaghan Drs. Gurramkonda N. and G. V. Naidu**Mr. and Mrs. Merril S. Pyes Mr. and Mrs. John P. Sall Mr. and Mrs. Alessandro

Saracino-Fendi Mrs. Barbara J. Sloane John and Hinda Snyder Mr. Charles Talanian Paul P. Tanico, Esq. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Taymor Ms. Maria L. Vecchiotti**Mr. and Mrs. William S. Wasserman Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Ronald G. Weissman*

$5,000 to $9,999Mr. and Mrs. Ioannis Alafouzos Mr. and Mrs. James F. Bopp Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Loren K. Brown Jacqueline Dedell and Ira Shapiro**Mr. and Mrs. Marc Duneier Mary Jane England* Mr. Anthony K. Farina Mr. and Mrs. Amedeo Gabrielli Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Ganick* Scott and Sheryl Haberman, Esqs.* Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Harris**Mr. and Mrs. William Hilson*Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hoh Mr. and Mrs. Sanjaya Kanoria* Mr. and Mrs. Steven Karbank*Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Klein Mr. and Mrs. Robert Alan Knox* **Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kwan Kwang Sung and Chong Keum Lee Mr. and Mrs. Larry Lerner Mr. and Mrs. Ronald A. Lopez* Mr. and Mrs. Larry Maguire**Nigel and Glenna Norton Mr. and Mrs. Janusz Sendowski Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Stelle Mr. and Mrs. Peter Szujewski**

Gail and Ernst Von Metzsch* Mr. and Mrs. William Howard

Weeks**Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Allen Willis

$2,500 to $4,999Professor Jack W. and

Mrs. Cindy Aber Mr. and Mrs. Nicolae Brova Mr. and Mrs. John Canaday Mrs. Marie Pinak Carr**Mr. and Mrs. Pramot Chotipatoomwan Mr. and Mrs. Francesco Colangelo George DomolkySusan Domolky*Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Dunn Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Elias Anne and Bob Essner Mr. and Mrs. Francis G. Gaumond**Mr. and Mrs. Dmitri L. Ilyin Ms. Lisa Stewart Jacobs* **Dr. and Mrs. Stanley P. Jacobs*Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Katz* Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence M. Kosow* Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Lauto Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Moore Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rimokh Mazen Snobar and Naheel

Al-Husseini**Mr. and Mrs. Ralph J. Spuehler Jr. Ms. Gloria Stewart Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Warsofsky Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Weitzel Jr.

$1,000 to $2,499Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Aferiat Mr. Nobuo Akiha and

Ms. Ann Livingston Mr. Herbert Albin Mr. and Mrs. Mohammed Al-Qabandi Mr. John E. Amorello Sr. Professor Gary J. Balady Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Battsek Mr. and Mrs. J. Robert Beatty Dr. and Mrs. John A. Bittl Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Borgia Jon Breyfogle, Esq., and

Ms. Pamela Miller William D. Brizzee, D.D.S.* Maureen and Robert Brownson Joel G. Caslowitz, M.D. Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Catrambone* Mrs. Janet Faulkner Chapman* Professor Domenic A. Ciraulo Mr. Stephen M. Cleary Mr. and Mrs. Brian David Coffee*

Mr. and Mrs. David Cohen Richard Colbert and Denise L. Janjigian Ronald B. Corley, Ph.D. Mr. and Mrs. James M. Corrao Neil Dashkoff, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. W. Lindsay Davidson David P. DiChiara, M.D.* J. Robb Dixon, Ph.D. Mr. Pudjiono Djojonegoro Mr. David J. Downey Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Cyril R. Drabinsky Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Emma Professor Francis A. Farraye and

Ms. Renee Remily Mr. and Mrs. Francis X. Ferrante Mr. and Mrs. Dennis S. Filiotis Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Fisher Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Frank Mr. and Mrs. Richard Adrian French Mr. and Mrs. Richard FriedmanMs. Lisa W. Gill Dr. and Mrs. William Michael Gordon*Mr. and Mrs. Eric R. Gustafson Edmond and Maria Haapaniemi Dr. and Mrs. George F. Heinrich Mr. Roy Hershey Mr. and Mrs. David Hill Mr. and Mrs. Steven E. Hindman James and Debra Beebe Hoback Mr. John M. Holland Ms. Vivian K. Holzer Ms. Laura Homan Sadayo A. Kanaya, M.D. Susana and Roger Khouri Mr. and Mrs. Francis Xavier Knott Mr. and Mrs. Igor Kovalik Mr. and Mrs. Irwin S. Kruger Mr. and Mrs. Jon Kyung Kwag Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Lally Michael Aaron Lambert, M.D. Professor Min-Chang Lee Karen B. Leeds and Steven L. Yellen Richard P. Lenz and Jean H. Tibbetts Mr. David R. Lewis Mr. Yu-Jen Lin Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas J. Lippis III* Mr. Chi Keung Lo and

Ms. Kwok Yee Chui Mr. Forest R. Lombaer Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John K. Lorms Ms. Kimberly Ann Lund Dean Kenneth R. LutchenMr. Tosui Machida Jonathan Mark and Kathleen Munguia Dr. and Mrs. Peter Mazareas Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Steven McCabe Mr. and Mrs. John P. McCarthy

Mr. and Mrs. C. Gordon McKemie Mr. and Mrs. Bruce J. Mellusi Mr. and Mrs. Greg Mullen George and Catherine Murphy, Esqs. Mr. and Mrs. William Nelson Mr. and Mrs. John Novak Mr. Jerome Ostrov and

Ms. Roberta Baruch* Mr. and Mrs. Yiannakis Papatheodorou Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Patrick Mr. and Mrs. Maurice M. Pechet Ms. Patricia K. Phelan Mr. and Mrs. George A. Porter Mr. and Mrs. Travy Remmert Ms. Nancy L. Rentler Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ritorto Ms. Karma Roberts**Mr. and Mrs. Kent William Robinson Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Rose**Mr. and Mrs. William Rosenbaum Dr. and Mrs. David Rothbaum* Mr. Alan Rottman Professor and Mrs. Ronald Roy Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Rueli Jr.**Ronni A. Schnell, D.M.D.* Dr. and Mrs. David N. Schwartz* Ms. Lucy I. Sherman Richard A. Short, D.M.D.* Ms. Sylva Simonian Mr. and Mrs. Po Sit Mr. and Mrs. James W. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stein Frank and Edith Steranka Mr. and Mrs. Austin Sullivan Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Sussman Mr. and Mrs. Marc Sylvane Jill and Robert Thomas Thomas Family Mr. and Mrs. Barry J. F. Twomey Mr. and Mrs. John K. Twyman Jr.* Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Wainer Mr. and Mrs. James Thomas Waring Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Watchorn Ms. Susan Waterfall Mr. and Mrs. David Waud Ms. Kelly Wellborn Mr. Gregory White and

Ms. Alison Brown Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence J. Wilhelm Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Wilkie Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wolfe Dr. Tao Xu* and Dr. Yanling JiangMr. and Mrs. Moshen Darius Yaraghi Ms. Barbara C. Yu Sherrie Zacharius and David O. Levine

* Alumni ** Parents Leadership Council members

Above and BeyondThe Boston University Parents Annual Campaign helps continue the tradition of excellence that defines the BU experience. Gifts to the Parents Annual Campaign may be designated to support scholarships, student life, athletics, specific schools or colleges, or the University’s area of greatest need. On behalf of President Brown, deans, administrators, faculty and staff members, and the thousands of students who have benefited, the Parents Program would like to thank the 3,446 parents who donated more than $1,037,000 to the Parents Annual Campaign last year.

We would like to extend special recognition to the following parents who generously gave $1,000 or more to an annual fund last year. We are grateful for their leadership. To learn about the Parents Annual Campaign, please visit www.bu.edu/ parentsprogram/giving.html.

Parents Annual Campaign

Commencement 2010

On Sunday, May 16, family and friends filled Nickerson Field to cheer on the 6,000-plus members of the Class of 2010 and to hear U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s Commencement address.

Celebrating TraditionDuring Commencement Weekend, dedicated BU parents and legacy families attended the annual Celebrating Tradition reception on the top floor of BU’s newest residence hall, commonly known as StuVi2.

Left (clockwise from top left): Parents Leadership Council (PLC) Members Prem Kishan and Mamta Gupta speak with PLC Chairwoman Jeanne Knox; The Lee family celebrates Andrea’s (SHA’10) graduation; PLC members Karma Roberts and Jane and Neil Kuttner talk with BU President Robert Brown; Rachel Horenstein (ENG’10) enjoys time with her parents, Rose Pappenheimer and Mark Horenstein; Ruth Klein (CAS’56), Emilie Packer (CGS’73, SAR’75), Julia Packer (MET’08), and Sasha Packer (SMG’10, SHA’10) are a proud legacy family.

Parents Program Events

“From this day forward, you must do your part to improve the world around you.”

B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 15

16 B U Pa r e n t Fa l l 2 0 1 0 . . . . . . 17

The BU Parents Program extends heartfelt thanks to members of the Parents Leadership Council for their continued guidance, participation, and support.

Kim ButtolphNew Canaan, ConnecticutKristen, Class of 2012

Marie Pinak CarrWashington, D.C.Elizabeth, Class of 2010

Jacqueline DedellLitchfield, ConnecticutSkylar, Class of 2012

MJ GaumondWarren, MassachusettsMacey, Class of 2013

Lisa GilliganNew York, New YorkKathryn, Class of 2012Meghan, Class of 2013

William and Debralee (CGS’76, CAS ’78) GoldbergOntario, CanadaBenjamin, Class of 2009

Mohit and Feroze GujralNew Delhi, IndiaArmaan, Class of 2012

Prem Kishan and Mamta GuptaNew Delhi, IndiaIshaan, Class of 2010David, Class of 2014

Jamie HarrisScarsdale, New YorkDaniel, Class of 2013

Lisa Stewart Jacobs (CAS’77)Roslyn, New YorkJesse, Class of 2008Eric, Class of 2011

Ratan and Deepika JindalNew Delhi, IndiaAbhyuday, Class of 2010

Sunil and Sunita KanoriaKolkata, IndiaAnant, Class of 2012

Jeanne Knox (Chairwoman)Greenwich, ConnecticutMerrill, Class of 2006Bobby, Classes of 2010 and 2012

Jane KuttnerScarsdale, New YorkSamuel, Class of 2010

Karen MaguireSaint Helena, CaliforniaLaura, Class of 2010

Arline McGowanWestport, ConnecticutRichard, Class of 2009Matthew, Class of 2010

Paul and Rebecca MoirLos Angeles, CaliforniaDylan, Class of 2012

Gurramkonda N. and G. V. NaiduPeoria, Illinois Harini, Classes of 2008 and 2011

Richard and Joni PankowEncino, CaliforniaCourtney, Class of 2010

Karma RobertsPiedmont, CaliforniaMark, Class of 2008Hilary, Class of 2012

Bill and Kathy RoseRichmond, TexasKristine, Class of 2009

Joseph and Donna RueliSuffield, ConnecticutBrian, Class of 2002Brendan, Class of 2006Christopher, Class of 2009

Betsey Ruprecht Greenwich, ConnecticutAndrew, Class of 2013Charles, Class of 2013

Mazen Snobar and Naheed Al-HusseiniSaudi ArabiaHaifa, Class of 2010Faisal, Class of 2012

Henry (SMG’83) and Debra (CAS’83) SuttonOld Westbury, New YorkStephanie, Class of 2013

Elaine SzujewskiChicago, IllinoisPeter, Class of 2012

Maria VecchiottiNew York, New YorkStephen, Class of 2013

William and Olivia WeeksSouthport, ConnecticutWilliam, Class of 2008Whitney, Class of 2010Olivia, Class of 2012

Taking the Lead

Adjusting to having a child away at col-lege is often a struggle. The sudden lack of influence over their child’s day-to-day life leaves many parents wishing they had a way to remain involved. BU offers parents willing to dedicate their time and resources a way to fulfill this wish: the Parents Leadership Council (PLC).

“Parents are going to be parents,” says Jeanne Knox, the chairwoman of the PLC since its inception. Knox describes the Council as an appropriate way for parents to be involved with their children’s education, adding that the PLC “brings a personal part of BU to parents.” Elaine Szujewski, a PLC member since her son’s matriculation in the fall of 2008, echoes Knox’s sentiment. “It offers parents a way to stay involved in their college-age chil-dren’s lives without hovering,” she says.

Christy Loring, associate director of the Parents Program, calls the PLC a “vehicle to communicate with all par-ents,” and its members “advisors to the BU administration.” Knox describes how the PLC has “moved into the fabric of the University” since its creation seven years ago, becoming more intimately involved with the students, deans, and schools of BU, ensuring that parents have a voice in relevant campus decisions.

The group currently has 28 members, all of whom attend—in person or remotely—the twice-annual PLC meetings, dedicate their time to various projects throughout the year, and support the Parents Annual Campaign. Some help plan Summer Send-Off programs in their hometowns to welcome incoming freshmen and their families to BU, while others host

groups of students traveling on BU-sponsored Alternative Spring Breaks, and still others fundraise for the University. Efforts like these, according to Szujewski, “allow BU to have a closer connection to communities throughout the U.S. and in the world.”

What is the Parents Leadership Council?

By aLLyson GaLLe (Cas’12)

Parents Leadership Council

To Serve and Parent

¬

y

Join Us Please visit the Parents Program website, at www.bu.edu/parentsprogram/plc.html, to learn more about becoming involved.

>>

PLC members attend twice-annual meetings and volunteer at University events and programs. Photos courtesy of BU Photography and Assistant Dean of Students Daryl DeLuca

!

Academic Calendar

Important DatesFall 2010

Classes Begin Thursday, September 2

Holiday, Classes Suspended Monday, September 6

Holiday, Classes Suspended Monday, October 11

Parents Weekend Friday, October 22– Sunday, October 24

Fall Recess Wednesday, November 24– Sunday, November 28

Last Day of Classes Friday, December 10

Final Exams Wednesday, December 15– Monday, December 20

Spring 2011

Classes Begin Tuesday, January 18

Holiday, Classes Suspended Monday, February 21

Spring Recess Saturday, March 12– Sunday, March 20

Holiday, Classes Suspended Monday, April 18

Last Day of Classes Thursday, May 5

Final Exams Tuesday, May 10–Saturday, May 14

Commencement Weekend Friday, May 20–Sunday, May 22

We know how our students roll: Not every kid wants to friend mom or dad on Facebook and not all students are great at keeping their parents up-to-date with the latest news.

That’s why we’re on Facebook. Become our fan (we won’t turn you down) for the latest campus happenings, event updates, photos, and useful links.

www.facebook.com/BUparents

If your kids won’t friend you

on Facebook, we will.

NonprofitU.S. PostagePAIDBoston MAPermit No. 1839

0910 028824

595 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 700West Entrance Boston, Massachusetts 02215

Boston University Parents Program

Boston University Parents Program

Be part of it, even when you’re apart.The Boston University Parents Annual Campaign is supported by parents and friends of undergraduates at Boston University. As part of the campaign, you can help the University continue the tradition of excel-lence that defines a BU education.

Gifts to the Parents Annual Campaign can support a variety of areas of the donor’s choice, including:

• Specific schools and colleges• Scholarships• Athletics• Student life• The University’s area of greatest need

Why donate to athletics?Gifts to Boston University Athletics provide our student-athletes with funding for scholarships, improve athletic and recreational facilities, and enable our athletes to compete at the highest level, which instills pride and brings recognition to the University. In addition, donations provide for key elements of the program—purchasing state-of-the-art equipment, enhancing recruiting efforts, supplying comfortable team travel, and much more.

x Please visit the Parents Program website, at www.bu.edu/parentsprogram, to make a gift today. Together, we can prepare our students for success.